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STATEHOUSE (Jan. 26, 2018) – Today, Governor Eric J. Holcomb joined Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch to unveil Indiana’s Next Level Veterans initiative. This new statewide program brings together public and private organizations to recruit, employ and connect discharging military personnel to Indiana and retain veterans who are already in the state. A new website, www.in.gov/veterans, launched today and will be the one-stop-shop for veterans across the nation who are looking for jobs, training, housing or information about the Hoosier state.
"Bringing veterans from around the country here to fill high-wage, high-demand jobs is a win-win-win for military service men and women, employers and our state’s economy," Gov. Holcomb said. "Next Level Veterans will encourage partnerships around the state to bring our nation’s skilled and talented veterans back home to our welcoming and vibrant Indiana communities."
More than 200,000 service men and women leave the military each year, and more than half of them face a period of unemployment. Currently, there are about 85,000 unfilled jobs in Indiana. To fill these positions, employers need skilled workers with strong commitment and work ethic. Next Level Veterans focuses on connecting military personnel, who have honed their skills during their service, with these career opportunities.
"Indiana wants veterans from out of state to know they are welcome here and that Indiana is a prosperous place, where employers are eager for their skills and talent," Lt. Gov. Crouch said. "I am inspired by the work our state agencies and partners have done to create a positive future for veterans."
Under Crouch's leadership, Next Level Veterans will provide veteran incentives, support personnel and provide marketing assistance. The Indiana Department of Veterans' Affairs, Indiana National Guard, the Indiana Department of Workforce Development and the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority are partnering with Conexus Indiana, the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership initiative focused on advanced manufacturing and logistics, and the Indiana Economic Development Association to support the program and the veterans who relocate to Indiana.
The Next Level Veterans website at in.gov/veterans, includes information about available jobs in Indiana through Conexus Indiana, education and training opportunities, quality of life and community aspects. It also provides information on a new veterans-based mortgage program, which helps veterans find affordable housing and gets them into their own home. This new incentive is provided by the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority.
The Conexus Indiana INvets program is featured prominently on the Next Level Veterans website. INvets connects discharging veterans around the country with jobs at Indiana manufacturing and logistics companies. This program was initially created in partnership with Allison Transmission, Faurecia, Honda Manufacturing of Indiana, Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana and the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
INvets staff will regularly visit major military installations in coordination with a multi-channel marketing campaign. These efforts are supported by a web platform that serves to both educate service members and connect them with employers. This platform will grow to include detailed career path information as well as education and training opportunities. Employers throughout Indiana can leverage this platform to connect with service members prior to their separation from service.
“Conexus Indiana launched INvets as an evolution of our work to bolster the advanced manufacturing and logistics sectors by specifically attracting veterans to high-wage, high demand careers,” said Wes Wood, INvets’ Program Director at Conexus Indiana and U.S. Army veteran. “We are thrilled to partner with the state to attract more veterans and expand the pool of employers to other industry sectors, all offering great opportunities for current and future Hoosiers.”
The Indiana Economic Development Association will also assist communities in partnering with the initiative both in advertising their communities and in helping to welcome incoming service members.
“It is vital we are making sure there is a focus on attracting those outside of the state to come here. Through IEDA we are going to attract people not only to Hoosier jobs but to Hoosier communities,” Lee Lewellen, Indiana Economic Development Association President/CEO. “We will help veterans and their families integrate and thrive in all Hoosier communities have to offer.”
Crouch said that by bringing the different agencies and organizations that can help veterans, we are opening ourselves to the chance to have more veterans relocate or stay in Indiana, which will keep Indiana's economy growing.
Visit in.gov/veterans for more information.
Tools for housing focused on renters, homebuyers, employers, developers, government , and the community. Please click here to download.
Attached is an editorial expressing IEDA’s support for increasing funding for the Skills Enhancement Fund (SEF). This letter will be circulated to various media outlets.
Click here for the editorial.
Tax increment finance (TIF) has witnessed widespread adoption and utilization in the past three decades. TIF involves the use of incremental tax revenues that arise from the development of properties within a designated TIF district, and the resulting increased taxable value, to finance projects designed to stimulate economic development activity or enhance quality of life.
TIF, as an economic development tool, was first implemented in California in 1952. Currently, 49 states in the U.S. use TIF.
Local governments use TIF to address a number of issues that include infrastructure development, to stimulate economic activity in under-performing areas within a community, to compete with other jurisdictions, or to develop quality of life assets. In 2015, there were 765 TIF districts and these accounted for nearly 9 percent of the gross assessed value of property in the State of Indiana.
In its role as a ‘platform mechanism’ within a local economy, TIF has relatively high visibility compared to other economic development tools, such as tax abatements, training grants and other incentives. Understandably, with the widespread use of tax increment finance, there is greater awareness among stakeholders about this particular instrument. It is not surprising, then, to find that as the use of tax increment finance has grown, so has the scrutiny of the tool. There is an ongoing push to ensure that transparency and accountability are at the forefront of efforts to monitor and evaluate the impacts, intended and unintended, of the use of TIF.
This study was initiated to contribute to the ongoing need for transparency and accountability of tax increment finance in Indiana.
This study was able to include a broader range of TIF data than have been available to prior analysts and, as such, is able to present a more nuanced analysis of the impact of TIF throughout Indiana. For this study, the effects of the ‘Great Recession’ (2007 – 2009) have been more fully accounted for, thus providing a broader view of changes in TIF activity over time.
Click here for the full report.
Contact: Michael Snyder, MEK Group, 317-805-4870 Lee Lewellen, IEDA CEO, (317) 313-8365 Greg Wathen, IEDA TIF Study Chair/ Economic Development Coalition of Southwest Indiana (812) 423-2020 Dr. Mohammed Khayum, Business Dean, USI (812) 465-1681
IEDA directs “myth-busting study” about Tax Incremental Financing (TIF), University of Southern Indiana plans comprehensive statewide research
New benchmark research expected to provide non-partisan review
INDIANAPOLIS – Multi-million-dollar tax incremental financing: Boon or bane? In economic development practice, professionals and elected officials often possess widely ranging views about tax incremental financing (TIF). Is TIF funding truly a critical and effective tool for accelerated economic development? Or is it an over-rated practice that drains valuable resources from Indiana cities and regions?
“Powerful myths and considerable misinformation about TIF activity in Indiana regularly cloud understanding and perceptions about the value of the TIF tool,” said Lee Lewellen, CEO of the Indiana Economic Development Association (IEDA). “To clear up possible confusion and document best practices, IEDA is funding and directing a comprehensive statewide TIF study that will be fair and non-partisan.”
To secure the non-partisan nature and future validity of the study, IEDA commissioned a national RFP search and subsequently selected the University of Southern Indiana (USI), Center for Applied Research out of a national group of respondents. USI will now research and produce an all-new independent study of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) in Indiana.
Commenting on earlier assessments of Hoosier TIF applications, Greg Wathen, president and CEO of the Economic Development Coalition of Southwest Indiana, noted key differences in the forthcoming USI research: “Though recent studies have looked at how tax increment financing impacts state revenue streams, the IEDA study will review the impact of TIFs on key local revenue streams such as option income taxes where data is readily available at the county level.”
Continuing, Wathen, who also serves as chairperson of the IEDA committee overseeing the IEDA study, added: “The study will also take into consideration the significant changes in property tax revenue attributed to the shifting of local school taxes to the state, along with establishment of property tax caps and the implementation of ‘circuit breakers,’ which were not adequately accounted for in other studies looking at the use of tax increment financing in Indiana.”
“The overall goal and USI focus will be to produce a solid, myth-busting IEDA study that will serve as a valid benchmark and prove useful in the years to come,” said Lewellen.
The Dean of the USI Romain School of Business, Mohammed Khayum, outlined critical background for the forthcoming study: “After three decades of use by cities, towns, and counties in Indiana, tax increment financing has developed a distinctive and complicated place within the state’s economy. This complicated interconnectivity could be described as a dynamic ecosystem.”
Why is this relevant? Khayum, a full professor of economics at USI and director of the IEDA study, further explained: “Stakeholders from a cross-section of economic sectors interact though tax increment financing and their decisions play an important role in transforming existing economic conditions into preferred ones for many geographic areas within Indiana.”
“Many economic development professionals and elected officials fervently believe that TIF transformed their cities and regions into economic powerhouses,” said Lewellen. “Others claim TIF saps needed funding and sinks regions into debt. What’s the truth? Currently available analysis doesn’t fully answer the question.”
The comprehensive study is expected to be completed and released in early 2016. It will examine positive impacts of Hoosier TIF funding and will examine opportunities for improving the tool. Given the widespread use of TIF to accelerate new development and expansion for cities and counties, the study will specifically examine and document strengths and possible weaknesses of the tool. Further, the study will document best practices of TIF implementation and administration.
Lewellen noted that results from the USI research is expected to fill in gaps in previous studies that may not have proven wholly successful. “It’s fair to say that the overall lack of a true benchmark study has unfortunately helped increase confusion about the validity and effectiveness of TIF efforts,” he said.
To alleviate this confusion and help establish best practices, IEDA decided to commission and oversee a major new comprehensive study. Following a national outreach inviting universities and research firms to submit proposals, a 12-person IEDA TIF study steering committee selected the USI Center for Applied Research to conduct the independent research.
“The University of Southern Indiana has been deliberately tasked by IEDA to produce a non-partisan and independent analysis,” said Lewellen. The resulting benchmark report is expected to include recommendations for improving TIF usage and future applications for Indiana cities, towns, and counties.
The study is funded through specific contributions to the IEDA Foundation made by over 3o funders including utility companies, various associations, economic development entities, cities, towns and counties.
The benchmark IEDA report is expected to aid present and future economic development professionals and government officials in best adapting, leveraging, using and improving this public financing and opportunity-creating tool.
The 12-person IEDA steering committee, composed of association executives, economic development professionals, attorneys, finance professionals and elected officials, will provide oversight for the project together with Lewellen. Work on the statewide project has already begun.
ABOUT IEDA – The Indiana Economic Development Association (IEDA) is the statewide association representing local and regional economic development professionals and other economic development stakeholders. The Indiana Economic Development Association defines economic development as the facilitation of investment that leads to the long-term community prosperity. For more information, please visit www.ieda.org.
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